CH 42

Youyou:…

Yao Yue:…

Bai Gu and Bai Ling:…

Chewing and swallowing the meat in her mouth, Youyou stared intently at the witch, her large eyes filled with curiosity and interest.

As Yao Yue noticed her expression, she tightened the handkerchief in her hand, feeling an inexplicable surge of hostility.

She felt the impulse to dig out her eyeballs.

No, that’s not right. Someone like Youyou, who was still inexperienced, would naturally be very curious about women at this age. So, she shouldn’t blame Youyou for being unable to resist temptation. She could only blame this woman who couldn’t understand human language for appearing at this moment.

“Miss, are you truly foolish or pretending to be foolish?”

Narrowing her eyes, Yao Yue glared coldly at the blue-clad woman, feeling extremely displeased.

“Didn’t I make it clear to you at the city entrance? Why should I care if you’re being bullied? Do you want me to be bullied as well?”

Looking around at the attentive diners, Yao Yue’s expression suddenly changed. She buried her head in Youyou’s embrace, sobbing softly.

“Young sir, let me tell you, this woman, she’s so wicked!… I went through great hardships to pull her up from a ditch, but instead of being grateful, she stole my gold, silver, and valuables!… Sob, if it weren’t for meeting you and being saved by you, I, I would have surely been taken advantage of by those wild men!… Sob, young man, it’s true, good and evil will receive their due.”

She hugged the waist of the young man, only to realize that his waist was even slimmer and softer than her own.

Yao Yue nuzzled against the young man’s chest with her head. In an instant, her eyes flickered, and she held the young man, uh no, the young girl, even tighter.

Yao Yue’s words stirred empathy among the diners, and Bai Gu and Bai Ling struggled to hold back their laughter. They all looked at the witch, their gazes full of aggression, seemingly eager to know how this woman, who repaid kindness with malice, had been mistreated.

“A-A Yue.”

Her face devoid of color, the blue-clad woman stared at Yao Yue in shock.

A look of disbelief plastered across her face.

“Sob sob sob, young sir, my life is so miserable.”

The woman in Youyou’s embrace continued her fake crying. Youyou reluctantly set down the chopsticks and, like Bai Qu once comforted her, gently patted Yao Yue’s head.

“Good girl, it’s alright.”

Although knowing full well that Yao Yue was pretending, Youyou didn’t expose her because she understood that the witch Lan Deng was also acting now, pretending to be weak and pitiful. Lan Deng had used this tactic countless times in the derivative plot.

According to her words, it was called “acting like a tiger while appearing harmless.”

In the process of vying for power, she had deceived many people with this strategy.

Compared to Yao Yue, who had her life trajectory forcibly changed due to being affected by the Love Gu, Youyou had an even stronger aversion towards Lan Deng, who meddled in other people’s relationships. It was because of her that the original owner of the body had lost not only her love but also her family and life.

Youyou didn’t understand the profound reasoning behind it, but she could empathize with the feeling of someone intruding on her own destined relationship.

If someone came between Bai Qu and her, if Bai Qu started liking another girl and no longer treated her well or recognized her, she knew that she would definitely cry her heart out, curse Bai Qu as a villain, and have utter contempt for the one who had selfishly intervened in someone else’s life and destroyed their happiness—the instigator of it all.

She would despise them endlessly.

The young girl’s voice was tender and sweet, even more saccharine than candied hawthorn. How foolish was she to think that she was a young man?

Yao Yue, feeling a greedy fondness, rubbed against the young girl’s chest. While indulging in a sigh, she realized that the urgent matter at hand was to deal with Lan Deng.

Reluctantly leaving the embrace of the young girl, Yao Yue flicked her hair in a seductive manner, her mesmerizing eyes filled with coldness and disdain.

“Oh, so you’re not a fool after all. You actually understand what I’m saying?”

A mocking smile appeared on their unparalleled face as Yao Yue looked at Lan Deng with contempt, as if looking at trash.

“People like you, I’ve seen plenty. Thinking you’re pure and innocent, like an immaculate white lotus?… Lan Deng, the brain is a good thing. If you want to become a fool, I don’t mind giving you a few pills…  Is it really so amusing to keep pretending like this? Do you really think I can’t see through your act?”

Enough with the act.

“I’ve already said it many times, stop pestering me, stop pestering me. But what do you do? You continue to act dumb and clueless, truly sickening.”

Yao Yue examined the pale blue-clad woman from head to toe and let out a silken hum. She pointed at herself and then pointed at Youyou.

“See that? Only someone as extraordinary as me can be worthy of the extraordinary young man. As for someone like you, with average looks, average physique, and a despicable character like a wilted vegetable, where do you find the confidence to compete with me?”

She didn’t want to expose the fact that Lan Deng liked her in front of the young girl.

Yao Yue gripped Youyou’s hand under the table, and their fingers intertwined.

Bai Gu and Bai Ling:…

The onlooking diners:…

This woman is truly formidable.

“A Yue.”

Being scolded by Yao Yue almost drove her to the brink of collapse. Lan Deng bit her lip as tears, transparent and scorching hot, rolled down from her black-and-white eyes. “A-A Yue, please don’t be like this, don’t treat me like this, sob.”

She just liked her, was that wrong?

She just loved her too much, was that wrong?

The young woman dressed in Miao attire wept pitifully at the Maple Leaf Inn. Upon seeing this, Yao Yue burst into a cold laugh, wishing to slap this woman to death.

She was not a man, she wouldn’t pity and treasure such delicate beauty.

This woman repeatedly challenged and crossed her bottom line.

She really wanted to poison her to death.

“Young sir, let’s go back to our room and have our meal. This woman is seriously ill.”

As her sinister face turned towards Youyou, it transformed into an appeasing and coquettish expression. Yao Yue directly took hold of Youyou’s arm and intentionally pressed her chest against her, saying, “And after we finish eating, I’ll warm your bed, young master.”

Yao Yue whispered the last few words near Youyou’s ear, and although others couldn’t hear what they were saying, judging from their gestures, they could guess the gist of the conversation.

Seeing the young girl’s fair and tender earlobes turning bright red, her gaze becoming glistening and enticing, a thought crossed Yao Yue’s mind. Taking advantage of the distraction of playing with her hair, she discreetly took a bite.

Mmm, so sweet.

“Ahh~”

In an instant, Youyou’s face flushed red, burning like fire.

“Let’s, let’s go back to the room.”

Her speech was somewhat stuttered as Youyou firmly held onto Yao Yue’s hand, barely managing to get the remaining words out.

“I’ve finished eating. Bai Ling, Bai Gu, you two can take your time.”

Pulling Yao Yue’s hand, she walked upstairs. Once they entered the room and locked the door, Youyou immediately let go of Yao Yue and wore a serious expression.

“From now on, you’re not allowed to do this anymore!”

The woman before her was exquisite and glamorous, dressed in the most eye-catching red garment. Her long black hair was loosely gathered at the back of her head with a wooden hairpin, forming a loose bun, while large strands of unruly hair cascaded down, creating a unique sense of beauty.

In short, no matter how Yao Yue pretended, in Youyou’s eyes, she had the appearance of a wicked and unscrupulous leader of a demonic cult.

And Youyou, who had always been taught by Bai Qu to be proper and disciplined, was not accustomed to such improper speech and behavior.

Initially, she could tolerate it, but Yao Yue actually bit her ear in front of everyone. She bit her ear!

How could she!

“No more of this, I hate it.”

With slightly reddened eyes, Youyou’s momentum faltered as she repeated her words in a low voice.

Even if she was naive, Youyou knew that this era was different from her original world. Here, they adhered to strict etiquette and had a simple folk culture. Women like Yao Yue, who were not proper and followed demonic teachings, were rare. It was certain that Yao Yue’s scandalous behavior just now would make others have a prejudice against her.

They would surely think of her as someone promiscuous, licentious, and unrestrained.

Feeling more and more aggrieved, Youyou felt an increasing urge to cry.

Because she sensed Youyou’s disapproval, Yao Yue, who had originally harbored resentment, became flustered upon seeing this.

Oh, how could she suddenly have the urge to kill someone when she always detested people, especially women, crying? Why did seeing the young lady like this make her want to commit murder?

“Youyou, what’s wrong? Don’t cry, I was wrong.”

Her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, throbbing with pain. Yao Yue took out a clean handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped the corner of Youyou’s reddened eyes. “Good girl, don’t cry. I’ll feel heartbroken.”

Although she didn’t understand why she felt so fond of this girl, Yao Yue, who always did as she pleased and occasionally had a twisted sense of humor, didn’t care about societal norms.

“I’m not crying.”

Turning her head away to prevent Yao Yue from touching her, Youyou took a few steps back, distancing herself from Yao Yue.

“You can leave. I want to rest.”

Leave? How could that be possible?

Yao Yue discarded her loose outer garment and seductively climbed onto the bed, demonstrating her choice through her actions.

Youyou: …

‘Xixi, how could Yao Yue do this?’

Doesn’t she know about the boundaries between men and women?

[Host, Yao Yue has probably realized that you’re a girl.]

After all, no matter how unrestrained and bold Yao Yue is, she wouldn’t casually go to another man’s bed. Just like in the original plot, when she became interested in the female protagonist Bai Youyou, she only kidnapped her.

‘Ah?’

…

[Empress Development Progress: 0]

[Target character’s favorability: -50]

Lying on the bed in Maple Leaf Inn, Lan Deng felt extremely frustrated.

“System, is this what you meant by a simple and easy task to complete?”

As the renowned hacker No. 1, she couldn’t believe that she was caught by this damn system to do some absurd task. Lan Deng now wanted to kill someone, to hack this system!

[Host, you were already dead.]

[If it weren’t for me binding to you, you would have disappeared long ago.]

The Empress Development System, possessing the ability to read minds, explained earnestly.

“But look at the situation now.”

Upon hearing the system’s words, Lan Deng’s expression improved slightly, but she still couldn’t swallow this bitterness in her heart.

“Yes, I do have a fondness for beautiful women, and I enjoy the process of pursuing them. But look at Yao Yue, she’s simply an eccentric, a lunatic!”

Lan Deng had never encountered someone with initial favorability towards her set at a negative value before! Back in the modern world, she could attract the attention of any type of man or woman. But in this world, she had spent so many days to raise Yao Yue’s favorability from -20 to -5, and now it had dropped all the way to -50!

[…]

[Host, you can use love potions.]

“Now, that seems to be the only option left.”

After venting her frustrations, Lan Deng quickly composed herself. She gathered her thoughts and transformed back into the innocent and straightforward Miaojiang girl she appeared to be.

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